Since moving into the flat and settling into more of a routine, I’ve gotten back into the swing of meal prep! Using my Rifle Paper Co Meal Planning Pad I plan out every meal and what I need to pick up on our weekly shop, making my life a hell of a lot easier. It takes all the stress out of meal times, and means that I can sit down to eat a meal without spending an hour trying to decide what to eat.
Throughout our forays into meal prep, there have been a couple of dishes that are SO easy to make, we tend to make them every week. I make them up on a Sunday, knowing that they’ll at least cover one meal and one lunch throughout the week!
The first one is such an easy fail safe! I always pick up a pack of boneless chicken thighs as part of the weekly shop, they’re a fairly cheap cut of meat so a good way to inexpensively bulk out your meal plan! I pop them in a baking tray, along with a pack of new potatoes, chopped into quarters, and then whatever veggies we have. This always includes carrots, peppers and onion, but usually includes something seasonal too, like asparagus, purple sprouting broccoli or sweet potatoes. I sprinkle the chicken and veggies in paprika (or taco seasoning if I have some) and then salt and pepper everything, and drizzle in olive oil. Chuck the lot in the oven on 180 for 25 minutes and it’s done! I divvy them up into glass tupperware, a spoonful of potatoes, a spoonful of vegetables and a chicken thigh, and that’s it! It’s a tasty, easy lunch that really fills you up! You can easily switch this up too, sometimes I use Nandos sauce on the chicken, or make a barbecue sauce, sometimes I top the chicken with mozzarella and tomato sauce, it’s easy!
I always have a big bowl of pesto veggie pasta in the fridge! It’s so easy to make, and you can use whatever you have kicking around in the fridge! I cook up a load of pasta on a Sunday, add in whatever veggies we have in the fridge (my favourite combo is tomato + spinach), add spring onions and parmesan shavings, and then toss in a pesto and olive oil mix. It’s easy, and it makes a great lunch, or component of a meal. Sometimes I just take a tub of this to work for lunch, other times I’ll have a little of this with a chicken breast, or a hard boiled egg for dinner!
And lastly, a chinese style dish that has recently made it’s way into my repertoire. It’s a simple beef and broccoli stir fry that takes around 30 minutes to make, but is super tasty! I mix a quarter cup of soy sauce with a teaspoon of cornstarch, a tablespoon of brown sugar and some fresh ginger, and place two thinly chopped frying steaks into the mix to marinade for 20 minutes. I then toss the meat into a hot pan and cook. Take it out once it’s golden brown.
Add some chopped broccoli to the pan, and add a cup of water, cover the pan with a lid and allow it to steam for three minutes. Take the lid off and add some chopped garlic, pepper flakes and two tablespoons of sesame oil. Once the garlic is cooked through, combine the meat into the pan, and then serve over brown rice! You don’t have to be super precise with quantities but it’s super tasty and a favourite dinner!
What are your favourite dishes to meal prep?